Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
This Diwali...
It was getting dark. Raghu watched the sky painted with all those bright colors. He loved Diwali. Especially those 'rockets', as they went 'whoosh!'
He stood outside the house where they lived years back. A couple and their little son cleared the porch to burn the crackers. He smiled.
********
"Careful Vivek," The father warned. Vivek nodded happily and continued making circles with the sparklers.
Raghu walked through the gate. Ten years ago, if he'd been careful enough, he'd be here in flesh and blood, enjoying the festival with his parents. They'd left the house soon after his fatal fall from the terrace, trying to duck a neighbor's 'rocket'. He should've listened to his dad and kept away from the parapet. Well...
He noticed Vivek was looking at his parents, the sparkler flame about to reach his finger. He quickly reached out and pushed the sparkler away from his hand.
********
Happy Diwali, friends. Just...be careful, ok? (Am gonna be away till Monday).
He stood outside the house where they lived years back. A couple and their little son cleared the porch to burn the crackers. He smiled.
********
"Careful Vivek," The father warned. Vivek nodded happily and continued making circles with the sparklers.
Raghu walked through the gate. Ten years ago, if he'd been careful enough, he'd be here in flesh and blood, enjoying the festival with his parents. They'd left the house soon after his fatal fall from the terrace, trying to duck a neighbor's 'rocket'. He should've listened to his dad and kept away from the parapet. Well...
He noticed Vivek was looking at his parents, the sparkler flame about to reach his finger. He quickly reached out and pushed the sparkler away from his hand.
********
Happy Diwali, friends. Just...be careful, ok? (Am gonna be away till Monday).
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
It's Different!
Everybody experiences one 'bubble-burst' moment in their lives. At some point in their lives, I'm sure. For me, the first one happened when I actually saw Usha Uthup for the first time, if you know what I mean. And then many other such instances followed, for various other reasons. But I remember that was my first 'bubble-burst' moment.
I was ten.
Well..the point is - how many times have you associated a voice you heard, to a certain face in your mind? Obviously many times, huh? But have you any time felt that the voice you heard 'tasted' like something you ate? Ok, don't frown - it may be weird, but it has happened to me a couple of times lately.
The new crop of singers, especially girls, have such a range of voice texture that it is impossible to think of them, or at least compare them to the voices of yesteryears. It is a good sign too, we get to hear so many different voices. And they go well with the new faces you see on screen as well. You don't have to cringe when you see Amritha Rao mouthing her lines to...maybe Latha Mangeshkar? No offence, I salute the nightingale and there was a time when I couldn't even imagine any other singer's voice in hindi films. But now...
Ok, enough of the foreword. Here's a list of singers and songs they crooned in the recent past I personally like. They taste...err..sound really yummy. There's a certain 'crack-jack' feel to their voices. Have you felt the same?
I'm sure I missed out a lot more - fill me in... Oh, and btw, no bubble-burst moment happened this time round ;-)
I was ten.
Well..the point is - how many times have you associated a voice you heard, to a certain face in your mind? Obviously many times, huh? But have you any time felt that the voice you heard 'tasted' like something you ate? Ok, don't frown - it may be weird, but it has happened to me a couple of times lately.
The new crop of singers, especially girls, have such a range of voice texture that it is impossible to think of them, or at least compare them to the voices of yesteryears. It is a good sign too, we get to hear so many different voices. And they go well with the new faces you see on screen as well. You don't have to cringe when you see Amritha Rao mouthing her lines to...maybe Latha Mangeshkar? No offence, I salute the nightingale and there was a time when I couldn't even imagine any other singer's voice in hindi films. But now...
Ok, enough of the foreword. Here's a list of singers and songs they crooned in the recent past I personally like. They taste...err..sound really yummy. There's a certain 'crack-jack' feel to their voices. Have you felt the same?
- Shruti Pathak - Mar Jaawan (Fashion)
- Hema Sardesai - Badal pe paon hai (Chak de India)
- Aneela Mirza - Say na say na (Bluffmaster)
- Anushka Manchanda - Golmaal (Golmaal)
- Tanvi Shah - Fanaa (Yuva)
- Mahalaxmi Iyer - Kabhi Neem Neem (Yuva)
- Rekha Bharadwaj - Namak Ishq ka (Omkara)
- Sunidhi Chauhan - Sajna ji waari (Honeymoon Travels)
- Bombay Jaishree - Zara zara (Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein) This is a bit older in comparison.
- Gayatri Ganjawaala & Sunidhi Chauhan - Pyar ki yeh kahani (Honeymoon Travels)
- Kavitha Seth - Iktara (Wake up Sid)
- Rahat Fateh Ali Khan - O re piya (Aaja Nachle)
- Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Mahalaxmi Iyer - Bol na halke halke (Jhoom baraabar Jhoom)...Don't even ask about the movie, though.
I'm sure I missed out a lot more - fill me in... Oh, and btw, no bubble-burst moment happened this time round ;-)
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
touché
He cracked his neck, pushed the door open, and stepped out into the rain. The deafening sound complemented the deafening silence he'd just left behind. Both were essentially the same, the din never left you.
He turned right and walked leisurely, wiping the water off his eyes and face. If you passed by him, you'd almost miss the tiny muzzle hiding in his palm. He clutched it tighter and walked across the street to the nearest phone booth.
He had already pulled the handle off the hook, when the shopkeeper in the adjacent building started to holler, "Sir, the phone doesn't..."
*****
The teenager ducked in time, more out of reflex than anything else, as the 'thing' flew over his head, barely millimetres away, making a whip-like sound. Maybe that's why he didn't hear the sound of the explosion. When he rose and turned his head around he saw people screaming. He was confused, he quickly turned all around, trying to locate the cause of this chaos, and then he saw it. The body lay below the phone booth across the street, smoke billowing out of it. Then with his heart thumping he turned around, behind him. The head lay against a wall, leaving a messy trail of blood and brains all over it.
******
From the half open window, a couple of buildings away, the middle-aged ex-intelligence officer and explosives expert, smiled in satisfaction and pulled the bullet-proof vest off his chest. He shook his head, helping himself to the scotch.
"Newbie..kids don't do any homework these days."
******
He turned right and walked leisurely, wiping the water off his eyes and face. If you passed by him, you'd almost miss the tiny muzzle hiding in his palm. He clutched it tighter and walked across the street to the nearest phone booth.
He had already pulled the handle off the hook, when the shopkeeper in the adjacent building started to holler, "Sir, the phone doesn't..."
*****
The teenager ducked in time, more out of reflex than anything else, as the 'thing' flew over his head, barely millimetres away, making a whip-like sound. Maybe that's why he didn't hear the sound of the explosion. When he rose and turned his head around he saw people screaming. He was confused, he quickly turned all around, trying to locate the cause of this chaos, and then he saw it. The body lay below the phone booth across the street, smoke billowing out of it. Then with his heart thumping he turned around, behind him. The head lay against a wall, leaving a messy trail of blood and brains all over it.
******
From the half open window, a couple of buildings away, the middle-aged ex-intelligence officer and explosives expert, smiled in satisfaction and pulled the bullet-proof vest off his chest. He shook his head, helping himself to the scotch.
"Newbie..kids don't do any homework these days."
******
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